Woodstock Express KI
Woodstock Express (previously known as Fairly Odd Coaster, The Beastie, and Scooby-Doo) is a wooden coaster located in the Planet Snoopy section of Kings Island. If not counting its numerous rethemes throughout the years, it is one of the oldest rides in the park, having debuted alongside fellow wooden coaster The Racer, both of which were built and designed by John C. Allen, and his company, Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters. The coaster originally opened as part of Hanna-Barbera Land with a theme to Scooby-Doo, being named after the character and franchise. It has been rethemed three times since opening, and remains in operation to this day. Clones of this coaster exist at numerous sister parks Kings Dominion, Carowinds, Canada's Wonderland, and Michigan's Adventure. However, the ride is known as Peanuts Ghoster Coasterat Canada's Wonderland and Zach's Zoomer at Michigan's Adventure. Woodstock Express originally opened with the park on April 29, 1972 under the name Scooby-Doo. Themed after the franchise and character of the same name, it was located in Hanna-Barbera Land, and was labeled as a junior roller coaster, serving as a coaster aimed for younger guests who were not ready to take on the bigger coasters just yet. Scooby-Doo himself did not appear on the ride, nor did any backgrounds or scenery related to the franchise, but old park maps do feature the character riding the coaster. Following the successful opening of The Beast in 1979, the ride was rethemed and renamed to The Beastie, with a tunnel being added to make the ride serve as a miniature version of the popular coaster. This version of the coaster would remain in the park for over twenty-five years. In 2006, Paramount made the decision to capitalize on their popular Nickelodeon characters and converted Hanna-Barbera Land to Nickelodeon Universe. Despite not being based on a Hanna-Barbera property at the time, The Beastie was one of many rides that was affected by the retheme, and became the Fairly Odd Coaster, themed to the Nickelodeon TV show, The Fairly OddParents. The ride cars were repainted to light green and pink, and featured the faces of the title characters, Cosmo and Wanda, in reference to the fact that the two are able to transform into inanimate objects with their magic powers. The original mascot of the coaster, Scooby-Doo, remained in the park at the nearby ride, Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Castle, though now as part of the neighboring area of International Street. That same year, Kings Island and the other Paramount Parks were purchased by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, who began to remove references to films and TV shows throughout the park. Nickelodeon Universe would be the last area where this occurred, as it was converted to Planet Snoopy, and featured characters from Charles Schulz's Peanuts franchise, which were present in Cedar Fair's other parks. The coaster had all references to The Fairly OddParents removed, and was renamed Woodstock Express. Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Castle would also have its theme removed, and became a generic haunted house ride under the name Boo Blasters on Boo Hill. This would mark the first time that the coaster's original mascot, Scooby-Doo did not appear in the park, despite the fact that he had been part of the park's history for over thirty years. Woodstock Express continues operations to this day, and its ride experience has not been affected by its rethemes, save for the tunnel that only existed when it was known as The Beastie.